The previously unreported 3-methyltetrahydrothiophene I-oxide
(1) and 3-methyl-2, 5-dihydrothiophene I-oxide (2) have been prepared
by oxidation of the corresponding sulfides. The structure of these
unsymmetric sulfoxides was established by chemical and physical
methods. Nuclear magnetic resonance analyses have provided significant
information concerning some stereochemical aspects of these
molecules. In the case of 1. which has four possible configurations,
both cis and trans isomers were shown to exist in the synthetic material.
A study on the temperature dependence of the nuclear magnetic resonance
spectrum of 2 between -34° and 100°, suggested little or no association
of a dimeric nature between molecules of this unsaturated sulfoxide.